CITY COUNCIL
• Who gets a key to the city? [Toronto Star]
• Mayor Rob Ford gives McDonald’s Canada founder George Cohon key to the city [Toronto Star]
• Q&A: Key issues concerning the key to the city of Toronto [National Post]
• City council mulls wider variety of food cart options [Globe and Mail]
• Ford to give key to city to McDonald’s Canada founder [The Sun]
• Budget chief Del Grande frustrated with downtown Toronto councillors [The Sun]
• Councillors vote to hide parking perks [The Sun]
• Toronto engages in some fantasy league mayoral elections for 2014 [The Sun]
• City committee mulls charging more for parking—but forgiving more illegal parking [The Sun]
GETTING AROUND
• A Frank Gehry for bike parks? B.C. designer Jay Hoots unveils plans for Sunnyside [Toronto Star]
• TTC to try mobile Presto payments this summer [Toronto Star]
• The Fixer: Drivers need to see and be seen when turning onto Moore Ave. [Toronto Star]
• Parking authority asking for a hike in meter-rates [National Post]
DEVELOPMENT
• Hume: New CAMH campus a sign of civic and mental health [Toronto Star]
• Peek at new Gardens brings back old chills [Globe and Mail]
• Toronto condo boom prompted new mortgage rules, Flaherty says [Globe and Mail]
• United Way invests in high-rise improvement projects [Globe and Mail]
WORLD’S BIGGEST BOOKSTORE
• World’s Biggest Bookstore may give way to big-box store [National Post]
• Indigo says fight not over for iconic World’s Biggest Bookstore [Globe and Mail]
PARKER THE DOG
• The dog that stopped the Gardiner Expressway [Toronto Star]
• Peter Kuitenbrouwer: The hot dog circus on Queen’s Quay [National Post]
• That time Toronto spent 2 minutes convinced a dog died on live TV [Open File]
OTHER NEWS
• Getting naked is the secret to beating the heat, says Bare Oaks Family Naturist Park owner [Toronto Star]
• Could a little gin and tonic save lawn bowling? [Toronto Star]
• City eyes expanding street vendor menus [The Sun]
• Breaking Bylaws: How public is Yonge-Dundas Square? [Open File]
One comment
I’d like to see a follow up to Del Grande’s claim in Levy’s column about Section37/45 war chests. Often those are earmarked for a specific project, so I’m curious how much of that money is just waiting for projects to catch up. If there is a bunch of general money for unspecified improvements, how much is there and is it far above what it’s been in the past?
The fact she didn’t turn it into a full-length diatribe suggests, to me, that she knows it’s an empty complaint, but that’s not enough evidence to dismiss the allegation. If there’s really close to $150 million for the downtown core just waiting to be allocated, that should be a story and I’d like to see it used for improvements. Or, at least have the counter argument presented for why these funds are being held for a rainy day (with the recent development boom I could see that being the case, but IMO that’s a worthwhile story to investigate).